Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones strike over 40 Russian aircraft, damage 34% of strategic bombers

Key developments on May 31-June 1:

• Ukrainian drone strikes hit more than 40 aircraft at key airfields,  damage 34% of Russian strategic bombers
• Russian soldiers surrender because 'abuse in units is worse than captivity,' Ukrainian military says
• Russian military freight train blown up en route to Crimea, HUR says
• Ukrainian commander resigns after Russian attacks kills 12 soldiers on training grounds
• Zelensky announces updated Ukrainian delegation list for upcoming peace talks with Russia

An operation by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) using first-person-view (FPV) drones smuggled deep inside Russian and hidden inside trucks has hit 41 Russian heavy bombers at four airfields across the country, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent on June 1.

The operation — codenamed "Spider Web" – was planned for more than a year and a half and has dealt a major blow to Moscow's ability to attack Ukrainian cities.

According to the SBU, the drone operation resulted in $7 billion in damages and disabled 34% of cruise missile bombers in key Russian air bases.

"The SBU first transported FPV drones to Russia, and later, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the drones were hidden under the roofs of mobile wooden cabins, already placed on trucks," the source said.

"At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers."

The operation targeted multiple Russian air bases, including Belaya in Irkutsk, Olenya in Murmansk, Diaghilev in Ryazan, and Ivanovo in Ivanovo Oblast.

"Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3," the source added.

President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the results of the drone operation, calling it "absolutely brilliant."

Ukrainian intelligence promised to reveal more details soon and vowed to continue driving Russian forces out of Ukrainian territory.

"We will strike (Russia) at sea, in the air, and on the ground. And if needed, we’ll get them from underground too," the SBU said.

A group of Russian soldiers fighting in the Kursk direction surrendered to Ukrainian paratroopers because "abuse in units is worse than captivity," Ukraine's Airborne Assault Forces said in a video posted on social media on May 31.

"In their units on the territory of the Russian Federation, they were subjected to inhumane treatment, psychological pressure and threats," the post reads.

Russia's abuse of its own soldiers has been well documented throughout the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

An investigation by the Insider last July reported that Russia uses a systematic program of "gulag-style" abuse directed at its soldiers in Ukraine in order to "maintain order" and punish perceived offenders.

According to the Insider, the patterns of abuse of Russian soldiers in Ukraine "borrow heavily from Soviet labor camp traditions."

Russian units have employed "punishment squads" that seek out soldiers who are abusing alcohol, refuse orders, or are simply disliked, and then subject them to a variety of abuse, including beatings and "confinement pits."

A report in Foreign Policy in 2023 detailed a decades-long system of "sadistic hazing" in the Russian army that included one soldier who had to have his legs and genitals amputated after he was forced to squat in the snow for several hours.

The video released by Ukraine's Airborne Assault Forces shows at least eight Russian soldiers interviewed at an undisclosed location.

One describes being sent to the front less than a month ago and being "blown up immediately," leaving just two men alive in his unit. Another said his unit was left to dig trenches and fend for themselves when they were spotted by a Ukrainian drone and "after that everything fell apart."

"The prisoners were provided with the necessary medical and psychological assistance," the military said.

Intercepted calls released by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) suggest numerous abuses by Russian commanders against their own troops, including one incident where one lost his temper and ordered his soldiers to shoot at their own comrades in a neighbouring unit.

"F**k the 55th (an adjacent Russian unit), shoot them, that’s the battalion commander’s order, shoot them," a Russian commander can be heard saying in an audio published by HUR on April 5.

The unidentified Russian commander appears frustrated at the adjacent Russian unit for not properly following an order and revealing their positions to Ukrainian troops.

The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the audio published by HUR.

A Russian military train carrying fuel and food was blown up overnight on June 1 near Melitopol, according to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR).

"The Muscovites' key logistical artery on the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Crimea has been destroyed," HUR's statement said.

The agency stopped short of claiming responsibility for blowing up the Russian train station in southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, but said "the fight against the military logistics of the Russian occupiers continues."

HUR's statement further noted heightened Russian searches and stricter checkpoints in the region as Russian forces seek to find those responsible.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian partisan group Atesh claimed to have sabotaged a railway in occupied Donetsk Oblast.

The head of the Land Forces of Ukraine resigned on June 1 following a Russian attack that killed 12 service members under his command.

"I have made the decision to file a letter of resignation from the position of Commander of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi in a statement on Telegram.

"Twelve dead. There are injured. These are young lads from the training battalion. Most of them were in shelters. They should have learned, lived, and fought – not died."

Drapatyi was referring to an incident in the morning of June 1 in which a Russian missile attack struck a training field and killed 12 soldiers and wounded 60 more. The field was at the time unidentified, but Drapatiy named it as the 239th Polygon, north of the city of Dnipro.

Russia has targeted Ukrainian training grounds aggressively in recent months. The 239th Polygon was also the site of a similar attack with an Iskander ballistic missile in March.

At the time, Drapatyi wrote: "Everyone who made decisions that day, and everyone who did not make them on time, will be held accountable. No one will hide behind explanations or formal reports."

In its announcement of the June 1 attack, the Land Forces press office wrote: "In the event of a determination that the action or inaction of responsible individuals led to the death and injury of servicemen, those responsible will be brought to strict accountability."

Zelensky announced on June 1 an updated 14-member Ukrainian delegation for upcoming peace talks with Russia in Istanbul, expanding the original group of 12.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will again lead the delegation, which will include several new figures from Ukraine's military, human rights, and legal sectors.

Three officials – Andrii Fomin, Yurii Kovbasa, and Yevhenii Ostrianskyi – will participate for the first time, while Oleksii Malovatskyi, involved in the May 16 talks, will not join.

The meeting is scheduled to take place on June 2, with both Russian and Ukrainian delegations expected to attend. Also, security advisors from the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany plan to attend, according to U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.

Russia has not officially submitted its memorandum outlining peace terms, but Ukraine plans to present a detailed roadmap aimed at securing a lasting settlement.

According to the proposal, the process would begin with a minimum 30-day ceasefire, followed by a full exchange of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russian-held areas, ultimately leading to a potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin. The plan was reported on June 1 by Reuters, which reviewed a copy of the document.

While the U.S. and Ukraine have pushed for an unconditional ceasefire, the Kremlin has rejected it.

Instead, Moscow has regularly voiced maximalist demands that are unlikely to be accepted by Kyiv, such as recognition of Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian regions and withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the parts of these regions remaining under Kyiv’s control.

Trump has expressed frustration with Russia's reluctance to make concessions and its intensifying and deadly attacks on Ukraine. However, he has so far refused to sanction Russia.

The talks are tentatively still set to continue on June 2, though Russia has not officially commented yet, following Ukraine’s "Spider Web" drone operation earlier today.

Note from the author:

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